Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.30

Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 9th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 1.30 per share by the railroad operator on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%.

Union Pacific has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.3% per year over the last three years. Union Pacific has a payout ratio of 40.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Union Pacific to earn $12.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.8%.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,765,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,717. The company's 50-day moving average price is $242.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.85. Union Pacific has a fifty-two week low of $190.71 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $150.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific will post 11.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UNP. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Union Pacific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.61.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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